Which English ale kit?

[Scorrie]

I'd say the other way round, less waste from bottles, partly 'cos I'm not concerned about a little bit of yeast getting into my pint so tend not to leave a lot in the bottom of the bottle. Also the last few pints from a plastic keg tend to taste less than perfect so that could be considered more wasteful than bottles too.

That's what I thought.

A slightly random question, but has anyone tried Birkby Bitter or any of the Birkby kits for that matter?

Right now I'm definitely planning on brewing some Nelson's Revenge, but am also looking for something of a session beer. So please keep the suggestions coming!

Cheers everyone!

Do you mean the Birkby Bitter from Brupaks? I've got Colne Valley Bitter from the same range fermenting at the moment. Should be dropping it into a keg tomorrow. I was a bit concerned on Monday morn as there was very little sign of life from the yeast (pitched on Sunday afternoon) but when I got in Monday night it was going nicely. Below 1020 now. So far all very straightforward.

 

[cask is best]

Thanks, do you think the ale will spoil if I undo, reseal and add some gas?

No go ahead undo put plenty of vaseline on the cap and only hand tighten the cap if you over tighten it the o ring will warp inside and will be use less. I had the same trouble from gas escaping because i tightened the cap as tight as i could and ruined the o ring inside i opened up put a new ring inside put plenty of vaseline on hand tightened it left it for 5 days drew a glass off and it was all gassed up and nothing wrong with it. I'm a third of the way through the barrel now and still have not put any gas into it and the brews perfect.

 

[PintofPride]

Do you mean the Birkby Bitter from Brupaks? I've got Colne Valley Bitter from the same range fermenting at the moment. Should be dropping it into a keg tomorrow. I was a bit concerned on Monday morn as there was very little sign of life from the yeast (pitched on Sunday afternoon) but when I got in Monday night it was going nicely. Below 1020 now. So far all very straightforward.

Yes I do mean the one from Brupaks and they say that its similar to Wherry Bitter but with more hop aroma + bitterness, so I am quite intrigued. I know it's a little early to say perhaps, but what's your general opinion on the quality of the Brupak kit? Let me know how yours tastes when the time comes round.

Cheers

PoP

 

[Scorrie]

Do you mean the Birkby Bitter from Brupaks? I've got Colne Valley Bitter from the same range fermenting at the moment. Should be dropping it into a keg tomorrow. I was a bit concerned on Monday morn as there was very little sign of life from the yeast (pitched on Sunday afternoon) but when I got in Monday night it was going nicely. Below 1020 now. So far all very straightforward.

Yes I do mean the one from Brupaks and they say that its similar to Wherry Bitter but with more hop aroma + bitterness, so I am quite intrigued. I know it's a little early to say perhaps, but what's your general opinion on the quality of the Brupak kit? Let me know how yours tastes when the time comes round.

Cheers

PoP

Good instructions, a 'basic' set and the options for tinkering are printed on the back. The kit includes some hops in a 'teabag' to add in.
Just dropped it into a keg today - I'll keep you posted. :

 

[shearclass]

I would say Brupaks kits are excellent. They are similarly priced to Muntons Premium kits, but I would genreally be inclined to go with brupaks.

I have done 2 montons kits, their 'Imperial (ha) stout' and Smugglers Gold (or something like that). The stout was amazing, the smugglers gold a shambles( though it was only my 3rd kit).

i am drinking Birkby bitter right now...

I replaced the kit yeast with Fermentis S-04 yeast, and added 250 sugar. I also boiled the hops that come with the kit for 15-20 mins, fished out the back they were in, then added the water to the wort while mixing it all up.

I'd was kept in a barrel rather than bottles, and it has been amazing. i fined with isinglass and it dropped so clear, more clear than any other brew.

Anywa, the concise version of this review is yes, Birkby Bitter is great, definitely recommend it. If I wasn't planning to start extract brewing after christmas, then i would be doing this kit myself again.

 

[PintofPride]

Excellent, I'll be getting the Birkby Bitter then and I think I'll use it with one of their flavapaks for interest's sake. I think I am also going to get the Brewer's Choice ESB kit. Has anyone brewed one of the Brewer's Choice kits? If so, how was it?

Anyway they are speciality malt kits which contain hops and you need to steep it all in a grain bag and then add 1 can of LME. The results are meant to be great, but we'll see when the time comes around.

I'm surprised to hear the Smuggler's Gold (or whatever) was a let down, I had heard good things about it till now.

Enjoy your beer.

 

[PintofPride]

Oh and one more thing...

I will be bottling my beer, so if I wanted to use isinglass finings at what point would I add them? Also, I have heard they're really not necessary and can cause the sediment to be less compact. Do you agree with this?

 

[shearclass]

i now fine pretty much all my brews using isinglass from hop and grape, though others on here prob never fine their brews.

It's not essential by any means, it's just something i like to do to get clearer beer. Beer should clear of it's own accord eventually once bottled anyway, but that will mean more sediment in the bottles.

i have only been doing this for a year, so I am not an expert by any means!

 

[PintofPride]

Hmm, I think I'll give the finings a miss this time round then and maybe try it later when I have something to compare the results to. I am going to take the brew off the trub for the secondary fermentation, so that should help with clarity.

Cheers

PoP

 

[Green Ninja]

I used to fine my kit beers but since going AG I find I don't need to.

Crystal clear in a week or 2.

I don't know if it's because I don't use finings anymore or if it's that I am now AG but I can pour a bottle into a glass and even if I have to wait for the head to drop a bit I find I can do a second pour without any sediment at all going into the glass.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is it because the yeast has compacted more?


Terry.

 

[Scorrie]

Do you mean the Birkby Bitter from Brupaks? I've got Colne Valley Bitter from the same range fermenting at the moment. Should be dropping it into a keg tomorrow. I was a bit concerned on Monday morn as there was very little sign of life from the yeast (pitched on Sunday afternoon) but when I got in Monday night it was going nicely. Below 1020 now. So far all very straightforward.

Yes I do mean the one from Brupaks and they say that its similar to Wherry Bitter but with more hop aroma + bitterness, so I am quite intrigued. I know it's a little early to say perhaps, but what's your general opinion on the quality of the Brupak kit? Let me know how yours tastes when the time comes round.

Cheers

PoP

Here's the update Pop:

I meant to leave it in the keg until today but couldn't resist a pint of 'sample' last week (Xmas eve) . Not bad, a little haze and still tasting 'yeasty'.

Left it for a couple of days and you could definitely taste the improvement. I should have been sampling my first pint today if I'd stuck to my plan of giving it 2 weeks at 20C and then two weeks minimum at around 12-14C. Unfortunately it took a bit of a hammering over the Feshtive Sheashon :whistle: You could taste the improvement almost day by day.

Todays pint (with half a barrel left and not 'sampled' for two days): 'Kinell...clear as a clear thing and getting the hop taste now. A very nice pint.

Lesson learned: Once you've barrelled it, try to give it 4 weeks. Good kit IMO.

 

[Dave1970]

Excellent, I'll be getting the Birkby Bitter then and I think I'll use it with one of their flavapaks for interest's sake. I think I am also going to get the Brewer's Choice ESB kit. Has anyone brewed one of the Brewer's Choice kits? If so, how was it?

Anyway they are speciality malt kits which contain hops and you need to steep it all in a grain bag and then add 1 can of LME. The results are meant to be great, but we'll see when the time comes around.

I'm surprised to hear the Smuggler's Gold (or whatever) was a let down, I had heard good things about it till now.

Enjoy your beer.

My last kit before going over to all grain was the Brewer's choice IPA, made with the most expensive of the choices....a can of LME

After a month in the bottle it's...well, just ok. I'm disappointed to be honest, it's been slow to clear, and it's not particularly hoppy which is disappointing, particularly given that I dry hopped for a week with a handful of Goldings in addition to the hop tea bag. It tastes a bit like my like home brew used to in the 80's. It is slowly improving so it may be that given a couple of months longer it will turn into a decent pint but I was expecting better. AG#1 was bottled 2 weeks later and is lovely already. I was much more impressed with the Woodfordes Admiral's Reserve than the Brewer's Choice.